By Carolina Costa
“Love your body and treat it well!” or “Beauty has no color” were some of the messages posted on sticky notes around the UMKC campus during the last week of February. The Women’s Center along with UMKC students and the Counseling Center participated in the Operation Beautiful project to recognize Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Sticky notes could be found in rest rooms, classrooms, vending machines and hallways. The positive body image statements were aimed to encourage everyone in the community to accept themselves just the way they are. Operation Beautiful was an effort to counter the negative and abusive messages sent by the media about body image, which promote unhealthy and unrealistic standards of beauty. 
In addition to the sticky notes campaign, the Women’s Center encouraged students and staff to take part in the “I love my…” picture project. Members of the UMKC community completed the sentence and were happy to take their pictures to support a positive body image.
Endorsing honest beauty standards and cultivating a high self-esteem are key components to the development of healthy communities and lifestyles and the first step to achieve success in personal growth. Operation Beautiful tackles the root of negative self-talk and poor self-esteem. With a simple message on a mirror we can change the way we look at ourselves and help each other reach our goals.
Although most sticky notes are now gone from hallways and doors, I hope the message Operation Beautiful has brought to UMKC stays among its students and spreads across the Kansas City community. Thank you to everyone who participated! I hope you had a great time changing the world one sticky note at a time!
For more information about the UMKC Women’s Center and our upcoming events please visit our website: http://www.umkc.edu/womenc/ or call us at (816) 235-1638
Join us to celebrate 40 years of telling our stories with the UMKC Women’s Center!
http://www.umkc.edu/womenc/40thanniversary/